This invention relates to ticket dispensing apparatus of the type that urges ticket material along its length from a supply beyond a cutting means, and actuates the cutting means to cut off the projected end portion of the ticket material, to discharge the cut ticket to a desired location.
Ticket dispensing equipment is used in various commerical environments including locations where people are admitted to various functions by purchasing tickets, and in industrial production situations where tickets are dispensed in a manufacturing process to the goods being manufactured. For example, various garment and flat goods producers deposit tickets in or to the produced goods to show that the goods have been inspected. Typically, the tickets being dispensed will include a statement such as "inspected by Inspector No. 2". In some cases, cleaning instructions or other information is included on the tickets.
When ticket dispensers are used in a manufacturing process, it is important that the dispenser be able to run rapidly and continually without monitoring so as to reliably dispense its tickets. Also, it is important that the ticket dispenser can be rapidly reloaded with an additional supply of ticket material. Usually, the ticket material is inexpensive and is formed without notches or other features that would enable the dispenser to cut the ticket material at the proper location along the length of the ticket material. Thus, it is desirable that the dispensers used in a manufacturing process be reliable to index the ticket material a predetermined length during each dispensing function so that the information on each ticket cut from the dispenser is substantially centered in the ticket.